Venus in Blue Jeans...and Cowboy Boots and Restaurant Review

Old down town Venus

Another small town about half an hour south of Fort Worth is Venus. Originally named Gossip, it was developed as a township by J.C. Smythe and renamed Venus. This former farming area transformed into a bustling town when two major railroads met at the site. At one time Venus had a post office, a school district and small college, several businesses, and a weekly newspaper (Venus Express). However, the Great Depression caused terrible down swing in the town’s prosperity, leaving the streets nearly vacant with only a drug store in operation. With the coming of industry to the nearby community of Midlothian, Venus began to recover. Plans are underway for the rejuvenation of the town. With its pretty park next to down town, Venus could attract restaurants (beyond the two fast-food establishments that are on the highway), shops, and visitors from the Metroplex.

In driving around the small town, we did find some things of interest. The first was an old

Three views of an old house

house that is just short of a ruin. The stained glass windows and the turret projecting from the back roof, as well as the formal entryway are reminiscent of a fairy tale house. I’m hoping that this house is a part of the town rejuvenation project. Also adding interest to the area is an alpaca ‘ranch’. These charming critters with their cute top-knots and pleasant dispositions were quite willing to pose for pictures. It was all I could do to not to reach through the fence to give one or more a rub behind an ear. Just next door was another type of herd animal – goats. While goats aren’t as cuddly as alpacas, and probably don’t smell as good, they are fun to see and photograph. Of course, since we were in the area, we had to stop by the camels to say, ‘Hello’.

L to R: Goats, light and dark alpacas

What we ate…

Since we didn’t really want fast food that was available in Venus, we ate lunch in Burleson, Texas. For information about my rating system, see Reading the Reviews.

Three and one-half Carrots

A Taste of Asia (130 NW John Jones Dr. Suite 206, Burleson, TX 76028, 817-426-2239) is

L to R: Asian pecan chicken, Korean Spicy Beef,
Sweet and Sour Chicken

one of our favorite places for lunch. It’s one of two that are in the DFW area; both have good food and fair prices. This time Vince had Korean Spicy Beef with fried rice; of course he added hot chili sauce to it. He had plenty to take home for another meal. Dave had sweet and sour chicken with white rice; he really likes this particular dish. My favorite lunch menu item is Asian Pecan Chicken. It’s sweet and savory with crunchy pieces of chicken and fresh peas and carrots; I took half of my meal home to eat later. The restaurant is in a strip shopping center near a larger shopping area and always has a large lunch crowd. The wait staff are efficient, pleasant and quite willing to bring chopsticks if you ask. We’ve sampled bento boxes and sushi, as well as the lunch dishes; we’ve never been disappointed. 

Camel

And happy Valentines Day!

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